Court clears inspectors in implants case

A French appeal court has overturned a negligence conviction against certification agency TUV Rheinland for its role in approving faulty breast implants produced with counterfeit silicone by manufacturer PIP until its 2010 closure.

In a statement the Aix-en-Provence appeal court said the German agency had “respected the obligations incumbent upon it as a certifying organisation”.

Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP), the French company at the centre of the scandal, sold implants globally, incluing hundreds in Ireland, over almost two decades until investigators discovered it was passing off industrial silicone as a much pricier medical product.